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1. Best Overall Value - Mint Mobile (Opens in New Tab) 2. Best Unlimited Senior Plan - T-Mobile (Opens in New Tab) 3. Best Special Senior Discount - AT&T (Opens in New Tab) 4. Cheapest Senior Plan - Ultra Mobile ( (opens in a new tab)
Cell Phone Plans For 55 And Older
To find the best cell phone plans for seniors, you don't have to limit yourself to plans designed specifically for senior users—those options do exist. But if you look beyond just the big plans, you'll find options that offer a package of balance, price and perks that appeal to shoppers of any age.
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After all, that's the point of researching the best cell phone plans for seniors — you want the best value from a plan that doesn't take a huge chunk out of your budget. With rising costs all around us, keeping your monthly cell phone bill under control can help keep costs down. And senior-focused phone plans can certainly afford higher talk, text and data costs.
This brings us back to the options at your disposal, starting with the best cell phones and senior-friendly plans. But the pool of options expands if you open up to exploring the best phone plans available. All you need to do is figure out how much data you need from the best old cell phone plans and what you're willing to pay.
To this end, they have come up with plans ranging from cheap options that give you a few hundred megabytes to plans that offer unlimited data, selling amazing appeal. We also consider policies that will cover you if you travel. (And if your retirement years include a lot of globetrotting, be sure to check out our review of the best international phone plans you can use on your travels.)
Only the older AT&T and Verizon plans have residency requirements -- something T-Mobile kicks out pretty loudly. While AT&T and Verizon offer major discounts on wireless service to seniors, you must first live in Florida and be over 55 to receive the benefits. In contrast, T-Mobile requires you to be 55 or older; You can find one of T-Mobile's senior citizen cell phone plans wherever you live.
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Other plans we looked at have no age or residency requirements, though Consumer Cellular offers discounts on its regular rates to AARP members.
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Mint Mobile | 4GB | $15/month - Everything at a great price (opens in new tab) Mobile Mobile is the best way to go if you're after a cheap cell plan, whether you're old or not. Money doesn't feature a senior discount, but the carrier's 4GB plan costs just $15 a month. (10GB, 15GB and unlimited data plans are also available.) The catch is that it only costs three months. After that, you need to renew for three, six or 12 months. If you renew for a year, you keep that $15 price, but the three- and six-month packages cost more. So the point is, if you can, it's a good idea to sign up for a whole year with Mint. Moneta now offers family plans where multiple lines get the same discounted rate. Plus, a Black Friday promotion gives you three months free when you sign up for three months of service from Mint Factory. Pros: Very affordable, decent data, family plans Cons: Offer changes after three months
Ultra Mobile | 100MB | $3/month - Best Pay Plan to Go (Opens in new tab) This is a great option for seniors who don't use their phones very often. Ultra Mobile's pay-as-you-go plan costs $3 a month and gets you 100 minutes of text and 100MB of data. That's it
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Limited, but for those who rarely use their phones, this option is great. And if you want extra data, you can pay 3 cents per extra megabyte, or top-off an extra 500MB for an extra $5; Add-on options exist for speech and text. (You can get unlimited talk and text for $2 a day and $10 for a full week for those times when you're going to make a lot of calls).
Pros: Very cheap, add-ons for talk, text and data are affordable Cons: Very limited in call and text data with no additional features.
T-Mobile Essentials 55 Plus | 2-line scheme | $55/month – Best Value Unlimited Senior Plan (Opens in a new tab) T-Mobile has an amazing offer for their senior customers (55 years and older). You can get two unlimited lines a month for $55 ($27.50 each). This is done with unlimited data, calls and texts without speed restrictions, 3G mobile data hotspot and scam protection; You get access to 5G T-Mobile at no additional cost. But streaming is limited to SD, and if you're traveling in Mexico or Canada, your data will be slow. You can upgrade to the Magenta T-Mobile 55 Plus plan, where you get two lines of data for $70/month. (A regular Magenta plan costs a lot for just one line, so it's great for seniors.) The over-55 Magenta plan includes Netflix, an LTE mobile data hotspot, and more. Even better, taxes and fees are included in the $70/month rate, so you always know how big your bill will be. Pros: Affordable No annual contract, 5G at no extra cost
AT&T | Ananta 55 Plus | Two lines for $60/month or $80/month - AT&T's bundled unlimited plan (opens in new tab) AT&T has a special deal for seniors, but you must be over 55 and live in Florida. If you meet these criteria, you can get two unlimited data, calls and text lines a month, or one for just $60. Your plan includes 5G services in the US, Mexico and Canada at no additional cost. You can text over 120 countries for free and have spam and scam call blocking. If you don't live in Florida, AT&T's regular unlimited plans (opens in new tab) give you some options (including one we'll review below), though many plans cost more than this discounted offer.
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Verizon | 55 Plus Unlimited Plan | $60/month or $80 for two lines - Verizon's best plan for seniors (Opens in new tab) Like the AT&T plan above, this Verizon promotion is only available to those over 55.
He lives in Florida; You'll also need to sign up for automatic payments. Yes, it's a group membership, but if you stick with it, you can get a really cool offer - one unlimited line for $60 a month or two lines for $80. This includes unlimited 4G data, calls and texts, unlimited mobile, hot-spot usage while traveling in Mexico and Canada, and more. If you don't fit these specifications, check out Verizon's unlimited plans (opens in new tab), which also include 5G — something that was missing from Verizon's old plan but not AT&T's. Pros: Major discount, unlimited 4G data, unlimited hotspot
AT&T | Value Plus Plan | $50/month | AT&T's Best Plan for Seniors Outside of Florida (Opens in a new tab)
If you live outside of Florida, you still have options for low-cost unlimited data from AT&T. The carrier's Plus plan costs just $50 a month, but offers unlimited data over unlimited talk and text. The catch is that AT&T only offers this option with one data line — couples are out of luck. There are other restrictions too – no data hotspot of course – but you get 5G coverage with this plan.
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Verizon | Welcome to the Unlimited Plan $65/month or $110 for two lines - Verizon's only plan for seniors (opens in new tab)
If you live outside of Florida you can get a higher priced unlimited plan from Verizon. Thanks to Verizon's unlimited plan, the cheapest unlimited option is $65 per month. 55 Plus Travel Benefits You won't find an unlimited plan. Low prices and discounts on multiple lines along with 5G coverage on Verizon's nationwide network are the only appeals here.
Consumer Cellular offers low prices for everyone of any age, but is ideal for catering to seniors with flexible data plans where you can choose exactly how much data you want. Recent changes to consumer cellular plans have added more data while keeping prices the same. It included a 5GB plan for $25/month, but doubling it to 10GB costs only $10 per month. (Customer cellular plans are all from 1GB
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